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The argument over who the Strongest Avenger is has been a long and stubborn one.
There had been years of debates, fights, reasoning, technicalities.
To keep the peace, the question had grown into specifics. Who was the Strongest Avenger in such and such scenario.
Thor was always to be the strongest- according to himself. Banner may be the strongest in the heat of the moment, when put under pressure.
When it came to the old school, the stripped back to bare combat, Steve was a strong contender. He reasoned that his abilities were given to him after a childhood of fighting with nothing, so he was always ready for a fight, regardless of the weapons or defences at his disposal.
Rhodey found anything and everything to brag about to argue his point- Sam was just as good at it.
It had become the common topic of conversation at their social events. All playful banter for the most part, aside from the time Thor and Hulk had squared up at one another, but it ended with an apology and a hug- and the oath to fight for one another for any and every fight yet to come.
So it didn’t surprise Tony, when he’d joined Rhodey and Cap in the grand living room with a drink, to find they were each bragging about how superior their abilities are. If anyone could spin a heroic war story, it was the two of them. Tony was surprised Sam wasn’t here.
“I sleep with my armour on,” Rhodey challenged,
“I sleep with my shield under my pillow,”
“You’re both pathetic…” Tony drawled,
“What? You sleep with a security system? Million suits all lined up all around the room?” Rhodey teased,
“Fuck no… I have Stephen,”
“Your boyfriend is your shield?” Rhodey was unimpressed,
“He has to wake up. Cast a shielding spell-“ Steve sassed,
Tony could argue his point, but it was so much more fun to poke his sorcerers buttons proving it,
“And then he has to cast another spell then to fight. That’s what, like, five seconds? You’re already gone-“
Tony threw his scotch glass, straight for Stephen’s head, cutting Steve off from his calculations.
As expected, the glass shared to a million shards before it even came close to Stephen, the tiny pieces flying out in every direction except for the sorcerer’s.
The man hadn’t turned around once, focused entirely on his conversation with Dr Cho and Carol, only slowly pivoting in their direction after he’d destroyed the makeshift missile.
He knew Tony well enough by now not to take the ‘attempted attack’ personally. He knew exactly who it had come from, and if Tony was lucky, Stephen might even be uncharacteristic and punish him for it later.
Unlikely- but Tony could always hope.
Tony loved showing off Stephen’s skills- he’d had everything thrown at him on a whim, from cakes, to baseballs, keys, apples, grenades. It was almost a game now. Tony never hesitated or held back. He knew his sorcerer’s abilities outweighed his- hard as it was to admit.
Stephen reacted fast. Conditioned all his life to remain calm no matter the challenge and annihilate any threat. He was a master at his craft, able to sense threats long before any human or super-soldier could.
It was insanely sexy, as far as Tony was concerned, and he rather enjoyed toying with Stephen like this.
‘I love you,’ Tony mouthed, earning an eye-roll before Stephen turned back to his conversation, leaving Tony a smug, grinning mess.
“Okay. So he has good instincts- he’s spiritual, that’s to be expected,” Rhodey dismissed, “but what if it wasn’t him in danger. What if something came at you? He’s dead asleep, is he gonna wake up and protect you in half a second?”
“Try him…” Tony encouraged, “tonight, one of you make your move… see where it gets you,”
“That’s not fair game- you could warn him,” Steve accused,
“Wong… you could put a spell on me to forbid that, right?”
“I could, but if Stephen finds out I knowingly put you in danger, that’ll be the end of my life,” the man passed by with his plate of food,
“Good point, and you can’t die, I like you… okay,” Tony took a scheming breath, “so one of you is just gonna have to stick with me for the night, and when you think he’ll least expect it, have at me.”
Rhodey and Steve exchanged glances, and Tony knew he had them. Both of them had this little need to be right, and if they thought Stephen would be slow to react to danger while he was drowsy, they’d do anything to prove it.
“Alright,” Steve agreed,
Rhodey declared, “Deal.”
Tony had forgotten about the bet not five minutes later.
He had never been particularly interested in the whole Strongest Avenger argument. He wasn’t nearly as concerned with competing against the others as he was with competing against himself.
He was hardest on himself. Expected the most from himself.
He always pushed to get better, stronger. The only person he had expectations for was Iron Man. As long as he got stronger with every fight, he was happy.
Tony was comfortable in everyone else’s abilities to hold their own, and he even felt safe with Stephen.
Tony didn’t doubt the strength in the sorcerer, he’d seen the man’s abilities- not just in a fight, but he’d seen the core of Stephen’s magic.
It was a roadblock between them early on, given Tony’s previous hatred for the craft, but Stephen had taken the time to sit down with Tony and show him the insides of his spells. He broke a strand of magic right down to its core for Tony to inspect. Showed Tony the good that flowed through it, let Tony actually understand it.
Stephen let the Iron Man figure it out like a science equation. Let Tony study it and it’s origins, until Tony let him use it for non-fighting purposes, and now, Tony was comfortable being cocooned by Stephen’s magic, knowing it was safe and there to protect him.
Tony had spent the rest of the evening sat on Stephen’s knee. After finding and kissing his sorcerer silly to apologise for the earlier show, they spent the remaining hours together, laughing with Banner and making conversation through the group.
They retired happily to bed late in the evening, unwinding from the party with a cuddle and science chat- Tony’s favourite way to empty his thoughts and let go for the night.
“I love you,” Tony yawned, drifting off to Stephen’s steady heartbeat against the back of his shoulder,
“I love you, too…”
Tony jolt awake hours later when a bang echoed through the room, shaking the windows. He panicked when his body moved freely, rather than confined by Stephen’s arms. He shot upright, looking over his shoulder to find his boyfriend, all curly messy hair and soft sweater, doming the bed with an orange and gold force field, a very familiar blue and red shield battered on the other side.
“Oh, shit…” he sighed, the nights earlier conversation coming back to him,
“You know something about this?” Stephen cocked an eyebrow,
“I told the guys I was more hardcore than them because I had you to sleep with, instead of armour or a shield…”
“Is that why you threw a glass at my head earlier?” Stephen sent the shield through a portal, disbanding the dome, “Because you got involved in one of their ‘better avenger’ fights,”
“It’s ‘strongest avenger,’” Tony corrected, moving to cuddle up to Stephen, pulling his partner down, “and yes… I’m sorry, I forgot I made the bet with them… I knew you’d prove them wrong,”
“I don’t like the thought of anyone touching you, much less them…”
“It’s all in good humour… and you did save me… I have the strongest Avenger,”
“Sorcerer,” Stephen corrected,
“I think you’re long past getting to be one or the other… but you’re my strongest sorcerer, if that makes you feel better…” Tony smiled,
“You really trust me that much?”
“I’ve never slept this good in my life,” Tony kissed his cheek, “though I could still sleep better if I was slightly more exhausted… Say… post you-saved-me-I-love-you sex?”
“Don’t make this a habit,” Stephen leaned in to kiss him,
“I won’t,”
“I’m serious,” Stephen warmed,
“I’m serious, too,” Tony kissed back, “I don’t need anyone to prove I’ve already got all the Strongest Avenger… I know,”
“You flatter me on purpose,”
“Mhmm.”
“Holy shit, he bent my shield,” Cap marvelled,
“Fuck…”